Basketball Intelligence For 12/12/24
Today's Best News And Reporting
Basketball Intelligence is now going to feature a daily article that we have selected as our "Feature of the Day." We think this is a great opportunity to further highlight all the excellent writing that we are fortunate to be exposed to on a daily basis. And if you have any pieces that you think are deserving of recognition, please share them with us as well.
*Feature of the Day*
SAC: NBA All-Star Domantas Sabonis, his legendary father Arvydas -- and the enormous weight of legacy
Baxter Holmes, ESPN
As a supplement to this wonderful piece by Baxter Holmes, here is an interview conducted by Kings Weekly Podcast co-hosts Nick Agar-Johnson and BI creator Ray LeBov, talking with Fran Fraschilla about Domantas's father, Arvydas.
Fran Fraschilla on Arvydas Sab - Kings Weekly Podcast - Apple Podcasts
LEAGUE NEWS
13 NBA Takes: What We've Learned This Season
Royce Webb, 5x5
NBA Lookahead: Scouting Bucks-Hawks, Thunder-Rockets as NBA Cup heads to Las Vegas
Zach Harper, The Athletic
Kyle Filipowski, Jaylen Wells and others are threatening to make 2024 an upside-down NBA Draft
John Hollinger, The Ahtletic
Filipowski is actually young by the standards of this group, leaving Duke after his sophomore year and just recently turning 21, but he’s part of a larger group of experienced second-rounders and undrafted players who have been able to make a more instant impact.
5 NBA Teams Best Positioned to Improve After Season's 1st Quarter
Grant Hughes, Bleacher Report
NBA Power Rankings: Biggest issue on offense and defense for all 30 teams
NBA Insiders, ESPN
Rockets, Hawks, Thunder, Bucks advance to NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas: Takeaways
The Ahtletic NBA Staff, The Athletic
Kia Rookie Ladder: Steady Top 3 on list continue to produce
Steve Aschburner, NBA.com
The NBA Cup is filled with JUICE
Tom Ziller, Good Morning It’s Basketball
2025 NBA MVP Leaderboard: Ranking Top 10 Stars Right Now
Dan Favale, Bleacher Report
The problem with “unthinkable”
Henry Abbott, TrueHoop
Report Card Grades for Every 2024-25 NBA Team So Far
Dan Favale, Bleacher Rerport
15 Seconds of Game
Owen Phillips, The F5
The Warriors are back to their old ways of dominating the start of the second half. The Warriors are 2nd in third quarter point differential, behind only the Knicks. Some of that’s three-point luck (they’re shooting 43% from three in third quarters while their opponents are shooting just 31%), but it’s not all luck when Steph Curry is on your roster. Curry is averaging just 23 points a game, which ranks 27th in the league this season.
NBA DRAFT
MavsDraft Scout Notebook: Illinois vs. Northwestern
Rich Stayman, No Ceilings
Interview: Four-Star Kohl Rosario Talks Recruitment, Overtime Elite, and Goals
Nic Thomas, The Draftstack
Darren Buchanan Jr. Scouting Report
Ersin Demir, Ersin’s NBA Draft Newsletter
TEAM NEWS
ATL: Hawks box Knicks out of NBA Cup with huge rebounding effort
Sean Kean, Yardbarker
ATL: Dyson Daniels’ defense, Trae Young’s offense too much for Knicks, Hawks advance to Las Vegas with NBA Cup win
Kurt Helin, NBC Sports
ATL: Trae Young helps Hawks roll over Knicks and into NBA Cup semifinals
Lauren Williams, The Atlanta Journal-Consitituion
ATL: Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher loves challenge of NBA rookie season
Marc J. Spears, Andscape
ATL: Trae Young stings Knicks again, leads Hawks to NBA Cup semis
Chris Herring, ESPN
BOS: Mazzulla-ball goes deeper than you realize
Mike Shearer, Celtics Blog
Think about how many teams try to attack Sam Hauser in isolation and regret it afterward! Boston is meticulously coached and overflowing with intelligent, talented defenders. We know this on an implicit level, but seeing it explicitly laid out is fun. If you’re designing the ideal regular-season defense, you’d want to minimize cuts and maximize how many possessions end with an isolation or shot from a pick-and-roll ballhandler.
CHI: The Numbers for the Bulls’ Offense and Defense Couldn’t Look More Different
Elias Schuster, Bleacher Nation
CLE: How Sam Merrill is tapping into his former self to add a new dimension to the Cavs’ offense
Ethan Sands, Cleveland.com
GSW: Steve Kerr furious over late call as Warriors fall in NBA Cup
Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN
GSW: Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher loves challenge of NBA rookie season
Vishwanadha Vamsi Vasisht, Essentially Sports
GSW: What we learned as Warriors ousted from NBA Cup with loss to Rockets
Monte Poole, NBC Sports
GSW: Late-game scoring issue leading Warriors toward ‘mediocre' realization
Monte Poole, NBC Sports
Remaining Team News continued for paid subscribers. Remember: for just $5 a month, you get full access to all the best news and reporting that we hand-curate daily for your enjoyment. Already have a subscription? Now is the perfect time to gift one to someone you know!